


Cops and Robbers

by MissOh



Category: EXO (Band), SHINee
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Police, Angst, Bank Robbery, But spicy, Cop AU, Cop Chanyeol, Cop Kai, Crime AU, Crime Fighting, Crime Scenes, Crimes & Criminals, Cute, Detectives, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, First Dates, Fluff and Angst, Gift Fic, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, I Ship It, I Tried, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied Relationships, Judge Yixing, Kim Jongin | Kai-centric, Language, Lawyer Kyungsoo, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Mentioned Byun Baekhyun, Mild Language, Minor Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Minor Kim Joonmyun | Suho/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay, Murder, Murder Mystery, No Smut, One Night Stands, Organized Crime, Past Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai, Police, Relationship(s), Robbery, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, Valentine's date, Violence, Weapons, Workaholic, club, cops and robbers, date, dean martin - Freeform, lawyer suho, police code, taekai - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-03-14 17:03:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13594503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissOh/pseuds/MissOh
Summary: This fic is on hold.Everyone on the ground!How is someone supposed to react to that kind of demand in the middle of crowded bank? Well, confusion seemed to be the prevailing reaction. Everyone was looking around, uncertain. That was until a gun fired, shattering a light fixture on the ceiling.That was when everyone decided to drop to the ground.This city was polluted with crime. This shouldn't be a surprise. Everyone has to come face to face with it sometime. Don't they?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KimCharmaine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KimCharmaine/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back, everyone! If you've read my Sheep Among Wolves, expect this work to be shorter and it may take me longer to update it. Apologies there.
> 
> But this is a gift for my dear friend, [KimCharmaine](http://archiveofourown.org/users/KimCharmaine). She FINALLY admitted Taemin is her ultimate bias alongside with Kai. Which, idk why it took her this long since she damn near has a heart attack at the mention of his name. Anywho, please pray for her since I'm hoping to put her in the grave with this if I can. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy.

_Everyone on the ground!_

How is someone supposed to react to that kind of demand in the middle of crowded bank? Well, confusion seemed to be the prevailing reaction. Everyone was looking around, uncertain. That was until a gun fired, shattering a light fixture on the ceiling.

That was when everyone decided to drop to the ground. 

This city was polluted with crime. This shouldn't be a surprise. Everyone has to come face to face with it sometime. Don't they?

So where does this leave you?

It leaves you somewhere on the floor in a bank. The floor smelt exactly how you'd expect hundreds of shoes to smell like. You could hear someone making demands, but you couldn't bring yourself to actually listen. All you could really listen to was your heart racing in your chest. Maybe if you stayed still and focused on your breathing this would be over before you knew it!

It felt like ages past, when only it was about three minutes. 

It was then that you started to move your hand from the floor next to your head. It slowly moved down to your pocket. You were having those heroic thoughts. Call the authorities, save the day. What everyone would like to think they'd do in this situation. 

" _Tsk. Tsk._ "

A boot suddenly was in your vision. Next thing you knew a man was crouching down in front of you to look you in the eye as best he could. Hesitantly, you met his sharp gaze. His face was covered with a black mask. There was a black beanie on his head and a gray hood over it. All you could see leering at you were his eyes. But something distracted you from that intense gaze. Your eyes quickly dropped to the pistol in his hands as he regarded you. Slowly your hand went back to press against the floor by your head once again.

" _That's more like it._ " 

His free hand came to pat your head, causing you to flinch. But just like that, his eyes looked away from you to look up and past you on the ground for a few moments. His eyes dropped back down to you and lingered on you. His head tilted to the side and somehow your heart began to race even faster.

With a huff, the man stood up before whistling. All the thieves were starting to file for the door. A security guard decided to get brave. He pulled his weapon out. Almost immediately the man that had been crouched down next to you was quick to aim his pistol at the foolish security guard and pulled the trigger, causing many in the building to scream as the man dropped to the ground. The thieves all quickly made their way out of the building. This left everyone else shaking and trying to figure out what to do. 

\------

"So, what'd you do?" 

Two men were sitting in the driver and passenger seat of a black unmarked car. 

"I put all of his favorite snacks up on top of the fridge and on the top shelves in the cabinets."

Laughter erupted from the two.

"What the hell? Are you serious?"  
"He wouldn't talk to me, Kai! What else was I supposed to do?!" The man in the passenger seat grinned as the driver, Kai, laughed some more as he shook his head.  
"Wow, Chanyeol... You've really fallen from grace."  
" _Oh, I'm sorry_. We all can't be the city's white knight destined to abolish this city of its sins," Chanyeol said with a big grin on his face as he looked over at his partner.  
"Shut the hell up, Chanyeol," Kai laughed as he looked out the window. "And you wonder why Baek wasn't talking to you."  
"Now you've fallen from grace."  
"I don't get paid enough to deal with you. You know that? It's a wonder Baek can handle-"  
"Don't even!"

Kai shook his head as he stared out the window. There was a long beat of silence between the two. Chanyeol's mood seemed to somber, so finally he turned to Kai. "How you been, man?"  
"I'm fine."  
"You need to do something besides work. Hey, why don't you join Baek and I for a night out tomorrow night? Yeah? If you hate it, well, you can have drinks at the bar. And if you enjoy yourself, well, there you go. It's a win-win, right?"  
"Chanyeol, I'm fine."  
"Come on."  
"Okay, fine. Fine. I'll join you." That seemed to bring his partner's mood back up.

_We got a 187 at a 211 in progress._

" _Shit,_ " Kai muttered as he turned the key in the ignition to speed away through the city. Chanyeol went to respond to the radio.  
"10-4. En route."

\----

As the pair approached the yellow tape around the bank they showed their badges to the police standing around. That was how it was when you're a part of the homicide unit. When you didn't have to wear the blue uniform, you had to identify yourself as a cop to everyone else. The two tall men bent under the yellow tape before approaching the front doors of the bank.

Once they stepped inside it was easy to see where the body was, simply because of the small crowd around it. "What do we got?" Kai asked, getting straight to business.  
"Bank robbery. Of course, all of them covered their heads and faces. A bank full of witnesses and none of them are worth a damn," One of the responding officers answered, clearly irritated as he turned to face Kai and Chanyeol.  
"Organized?" Chanyeol spoke up as he eyed the corpse.  
"From what we hear… Incredibly. Apparently they all responded to whistles from the ring leader."  
"Whistles? You sure?" Kai's attention turned wholly onto the officer.  
"That's what the witnesses all said. Before they were all told to get to the ground they all heard a loud whistle that was high pitched, before it dropped a pitch. Then the other robbers repeated the same whistle."  
" _Shit._ "

"You think it's them?" Chanyeol turned to Kai who was rubbing his forehead out of stress.  
"Them? Who's them?" The officer piped up but Chanyeol just waved him off before pulling Kai to the side.  
"Who else would it be?" Kai asked as he looked at his partner. "They're escalating."  
"Just our luck… Time to add another body to their count. And we still don't have any names, faces, not even a date of birth," Chanyeol groaned before looking back over at the body. "It's embarrassing at this point."

\-----

Work absorbed Kai. He didn't even really remember that he agreed to plans with Chanyeol and Baekhyun until Chanyeol was texting him that night to remind him. But against his better judgement, he showered and got ready to meet Chanyeol and Baekhyun at the club. 

The night was exactly what he expected. Chanyeol and Baekhyun tried to avoid making Kai feel like a third wheel, which was kind of them. But even Kai knew how Baekhyun got when he drank. He'd get whiny and beg Chanyeol to go dancing with him. So, about two hours in Kai was left at the bar as Baekhyun drug Chanyeol out onto the dance floor. 

Why was he even here?

So, Kai sat there slowly nursing his drink so he didn't end up like many others at the club. He didn't realize how broody he probably looked at he stared down the back wall of the bar. 

"Hey there, handsome." 

Kai looked over at the blond young man who was taking the seat next to him. He offered the attractive man a smile and a nod, but that was really about it. 

"Can-"  
"I'm sorry, I have a strict policy against me buying strangers drinks," Kai interrupted the man and the stranger pursed his lips.  
"Well, good thing I was going to ask if I can buy you a drink."  
" _Oh,_ I'm sorry. Um… If you want?" 

The stranger let out a soft laugh as he glanced at the bartender. "Can I get your name first?"  
"Kai. Yours?"  
"Taemin."  
"It's a pleasure."  
"Pleasure is all mine." 

After Taemin got the bartender's attention and drinks were ordered Taemin's attention fully turned to Kai. He even turned in his seat to face him. "Alright, so why don't you buy drinks for strangers?"  
"Hey, I used to."  
" _Buttttttt?_ "  
Kai couldn't help but to smile at Taemin's persistence. Quite frankly the blond looked cute with those brown eyes so wide and a smile on his face. "But… I decided to stop wasting my money."  
"Oh, I see how it is. Someone broke your heart," Taemin did not miss a beat in his response, leaving Kai a little slack jawed.

Kai ran a hand through his dark brown hair as he let out a sigh. "No, that's not it."  
"It was pretty bad, then. Wasn't it? Hey, it's alright, Kai. Breakups happen. It's part of the game."  
"The game?"  
"The game of love." Kai let out a chuckle at this and Taemin began to laugh a little with him. Maybe it was the alcohol, but Kai thought it was a handsome noise. "But, honestly. Break ups happen. And you know what? That break up was a good thing."  
"A good thing? Really? Enlighten me." Kai was smiling as big as Taemin was at this point. Although, Taemin made him swallow when he leaned in a little closer.

"That means I can sit here making moves on you now."

Kai pursed his lips together for a moment as he looked at Taemin. _Really_ looked at him. Him and those plush lips of his. Kai glanced back at the dance floor. 

"You here with someone?"  
"Ah, a friend and his husband."  
"Do you think they'd miss you?"

Kai turned back to face Taemin, rather than look for Chanyeol or Baekhyun. He swallowed hard as he held the other's gaze. There were a few beats of silence before Kai shook his head.

\-----

Lips crashed against each other as soon as Kai's apartment door was shut. Kai would be happy to stay there forever, but he eagerly took Taemin's hand as he broke the kiss. He went to lead the man towards his bedroom while Taemin's free hand latched onto one of his hips. By the time Kai was pushing open the bedroom door he felt lips brushing against the back of his neck. He wanted to stay still and let Taemin start leaving his mark on him. But he wasn't that patient right now. He was too patient when it came to work, he didn't want to have to be patient tonight. 

Taemin seemed like the perfect distraction. 

Kai's hand pulled the man around to be in front of him so that their lips could connect once again. Kai's hands pushed the leather jacket off of Taemin's shoulders so it could fall in the floor. The kiss broke as Kai tugged the black shirt off of him. As soon as his arms were out of the shirt Taemin's hands were greedily pulling the white long-sleeved shirt off of Kai. 

Kai's breath was hot as he leaned in towards Taemin. His lips pressed against his bare collarbone as his hands grabbed onto his hips, thumbs rubbing circles on his hip bones. "Are you sure you want this?" Kai's husky voice asked Taemin as his lips ghosted his collarbone. One of Taemin's hands went to the back of Kai's head, running his fingers through his hair. His other hand was running up his back to settle on one of his shoulder blades, his nails lightly digging into his skin. 

"I couldn't be more sure." Taemin's response was all the permission Kai needed for him to start guiding Taemin backwards towards the bed. His lips were pressing soft kisses up to his neck. Once Taemin was sat down on the bed Kai leaned over to press more kisses along his jawline. Taemin pulled away to scoot further back onto the bed. Kai crawled onto the bed to chase after him. He ended up hovering on top of the man he just met before his lips pressed against Taemin's once more. One hand was pressed into the mattress close to Taemin's head to support his weight while the other cupped Taemin's jaw. His thumb was running along the other man's jawline as he led them through a slow and steady kiss.

It lasted for about a minute before Taemin began to giggle underneath him. "Hmm?" Kai pulled away, wondering if he messed something up. To be fair, he wasn't typically the type to be interested in casual affairs. Well.. To be more honest, this was his first time bringing a stranger home.  
"You're so gentle," Taemin was grinning up at Kai, amusement clear in his eyes.  
"Is that a bad thing?"  
"Not necessarily. But it is cute." 

Finally, Kai let out a chuckle before he pressed his lips against Taemin once again. Taemin must have started to get restless as his hands abandoned Kai's shoulders to go and unbutton and unzip his pants.

\----

"I should probably start heading out…"

Taemin was starting to untangle himself from Kai. Kai wasn't any help, however, as he wasn't pulling his arms away from the man. "You can sleep here, if you want," Kai found himself saying, but he began to regret it when Taemin looked at him with wide eyes. "I mean, I don't work tomorrow and so if you want.. You wouldn't be putting me out at all." 

Yeah, he was digging himself a hole, wasn't he?

Taemin actually smiled as he regarded Kai for a moment. "Are you sure?" Kai nodded in response.  
"You can use my shower too."  
"Wow. What a proper gentleman."  
"I try."

The two shared a small laugh as Taemin went to tangle himself back up in Kai. 

Kai slept easy that night.

He woke up early, as per usual. He slowly untangled himself from Taemin. He sat on the edge of the bed for a little bit. He wondered why the hell he let himself bring a stranger home. But when he turned to look at Taemin… It made sense. Especially with the morning light starting to filter in from the windows. He was handsome, that much was certain. But the way the rays of sunshine were starting to fall on his skin... He almost looked ethereal. How could someone's body be so damned perfect? It wasn't fair.

Kai saw Taemin shudder before curling up into a ball. He smiled as he got up and pulled the blankets over the naked man. Then he went to get a shower and clean up.

After Kai put on some black slacks and a red button up he made his way to the kitchen to get started on breakfast. 

About the time it was ready his bedroom door opened. He didn't look up from the skillet, not until he heard Taemin's voice.

"I was going to finish getting ready. But I couldn't help but to smell breakfast and coffee." 

When Kai looked up towards his bedroom door and found Taemin making his approach to the bar that divided the kitchen and the dining area. Taemin's hair was wet from a shower. But the thing that really caught Kai's eyes was the fact he was wearing his maroon robe. 

It looked good on him.

"Glad to see you've made yourself at home," Kai laughed as his eyes went back to the food.  
"Mm. Well, it's easy to do with such an accommodating host."  
"Speaking of… Breakfast is ready if you want some. There's coffee too."  
"Well, who would I be to refuse such a kind offer?"

Kai smiled as he went and made two plates to set on the table. Then he walked back into the kitchen to grab two mugs to pour them some coffee before going back to the table. As he sat the mug down Taemin looked up at him. "You don't take it with any cream or sugar?"  
"I actually hate coffee either way." 

Taemin laughed as Kai went to go get the creamer and sugar. "Why do you drink it, then?"  
"Mm. Habit, I guess. There's a big need for coffee in the work I do."  
"Oh? What do you do?" Taemin asked as Kai finally walked back over to the table to join the other man.  
"Cop." Kai could see the surprise written all over Taemin's face before the grin reappeared.  
"No shit?"  
"No shit."  
" _Wow…_ No one is ever going to believe I spent the night with a cop."

Kai laughed as he began to eat a little bit of food. "What do you do then?" Taemin shrugged as he seemed to weigh the answer out in his head while he chewed on some food.  
"I'm a dancer."  
"Oh, yeah? What kind?"  
" _Oh, honey._ " Kai finally looked up from his plate to see clear amusement on Taemin's face. He didn't understand why, though. "Stripper." It was Kai's turn for his eyes to widen.  
" _Oh._ " He wasn't sure how else to respond to that.  
"Does it not sit well with you?"  
"It's none of my business."  
"I mean, does it change your opinion of me?"

Kai stopped eating to rest his elbows on the table and interlock his fingers so he could set his chin on his hands. He smiled at the man across from him as he regarded him. It was a shame he was already growing attached to his one-night stand.

"No. Everyone has their hustle, don't they?" 

Taemin beamed at Kai before he put another bite of food in his mouth. 

"They sure do."


	2. Chapter 2

By that late morning, Taemin left Kai’s apartment.

After Kai awkwardly said his goodbyes and shut his apartment door he couldn’t help but to feel a little empty. He felt a little wistful over his departure. He realized this is why he probably shouldn’t have one-night stands. He couldn’t compartmentalize sex so well.

Kai was already attached to Taemin.

He ran his hands through his hair as he let out a sigh. After shaking his head, he at least decided to go change the sheets. He figured he should focus on clean up before he did anything else for the day.

Kai tugged the comforter off of the bed to dump it in the floor. He walked around the bed and went to grab a pillow. But his hand froze, hovering above the pillow. His eyebrows knitted together as his fingers slowly went to pick up a small piece of paper resting on the pillow.

_Call me xx_

Kai turned the paper around to see that Taemin had left his phone number. He bit down on his lower lip to try and keep himself from grinning.

\------

The following day Kai was back at work going over files, trying to figure out who the hell their bank robbers were. But really they didn’t have anything on them yet. It was going to be a stressful work month, Kai could feel it.

“Are you two Kim and Park?”

Kai looked up at the tall officer that approached his and Chanyeol’s desks. Chanyeol nodded as Kai’s attention went back to the files. Chanyeol was better at handling people, so he was content to let him deal with the young man.

“I was told to bring you two information I got ‘bout a vandalism.”  
“A vandalism?” Chanyeol responded with as much confusion as one would expect.  
“Yes, sir.”  
“I’m sorry, but do you realize you’re in the homicide department right now?”  
“... Yes.”  
“Then what the hell-... What’s your name?”  
“Tao. Err- Huang.”  
“Okay. Officer Huang. Can you please explain to me why you’re bringing a property crime to a couple of homicide detectives?”  
“Well-” Tao turned around to look behind him, seeming so much like a lost child in that moment in time. “They said-”  
“Listen, I’m sorry. But we don’t care about property crimes here.”  
“Go easy on the rookie, Chanyeol,” Kai finally piped up without looking away from the documents he was skimming through. Which, Chanyeol turned to Kai and began inanely insisting he wasn’t being hard on him. Kai has learned how to tune most of that out by now.

“Detectives Kim and Park. I was told you’d be interested to know that someone’s car was set ablaze in front of their own home and they didn’t even bother to report it.”

Now Tao had Kai’s attention.

Immediately Kai stood up as he looked at the rookie cop in his blue uniform. “Hold on. The car was set on fire? Purposefully?”  
“Yes. That’s what I’ve been trying to say.”  
“What’d the car owner say??” Kai asked as he placed his hands on Tao’s shoulders, as if to communicate the urgency.  
“Well, it was really strange. The car was in his driveway and registered to him. But when asked he’d just say ‘what car?’ I don’t know why he’s playing dumb.”  
“You have the address???”  
“Yeah.. I can write it down for you.”  
“Officer Huang, I could kiss you right now,” Kai beamed at the man as he cupped his face in his hands, drawing a hearty laugh from Chanyeol.  
“Please don’t,” Tao suddenly grew sheepish as blush coated his cheeks and he looked down. Kai took his cue to let go of the man and back off as Chanyeol passed him a pen and notepad.

“So why are you two so interested in this?”  
“There’s this gang we’re after. They’re a little old school. They like giving warnings before they kill someone like the old mafias. They’ll torch their car in front of their home. Eventually they make their move.”  
“Wow. That’s some heavy shit. Sounds like you two are working a good case.”  
“Hm. It’d be a good case if we had any information on the gang members,” Chanyeol sighed while he watched Tao write down the address.

Once Tao was done he stood up and looked over at Chanyeol and Kai and gave them a polite nod. “Well, best of luck to you, detectives.”

Kai turned to Chanyeol after the other cop left and grabbed the notepad with a grin. “Go ahead and call Baekhyun. You know he’s gonna be pissed you’re gonna be gone on a stake out,” Kai laughed as he patted Chanyeol’s shoulder.

\------

That evening Kai was sat in the passenger seat of a black unmarked car while Chanyeol was sat in the driver’s seat. They were parked on the side of the street where they could see the home of the potential victim. Hopefully if anyone made their move, they’d be able to move in and catch them before anyone lost their life.

Stake outs typically weren’t the most exciting things ever. Usually it only gave Chanyeol and Kai time to talk. Phones vibrating wasn’t something that was rare during this either. Baekhyun often stayed in close touch with Chanyeol until he went to sleep. So Chanyeol’s phone was constantly vibrating. This night, however, Kai’s phone also was vibrating quite a bit.

Chanyeol finally gave Kai a bit of a side eye. “Damn, you go and get married and not tell me?” He asked with a grin as Kai let out a slight laugh.  
“Why? Do I seem as whipped as you?”  
“Yeah, kind of.”

The two laughed a little before Kai’s phone vibrated once again. “Did you meet someone at the club?” Chanyeol finally asked since Kai wasn’t offering up the information.  
“I suppose I did,” Kai admitted as he looked at his phone.

_Taemin:_  
_What are you up to for the evening?_

_Kai:_  
_Work, unfortunately._

_Taemin:_  
_Sameeee~_

_Kai:_  
_Oh?_

_Taemin:_  
_Mhm. I’ll have to stop entertaining you soon to go on stage and entertain others._

“I’m glad. I hope it works out for you… Whatever it is right now anyways.” Chanyeol’s voice caused Kai to look up from his phone. He offered his partner a soft smile in response.  
“Thanks. I don’t know what it is either. But he’s… He’s _something._ ”

_Taemin:_  
_Want to see?_

_Kai:_  
_See?_

_(1) New photo message from Taemin_

Kai opened it without thought and couldn’t help but to sharply inhale when he actually saw the photo. Taemin was leaned back in a chair, his black button up shirt was unbuttoned down past his sternum. There was quite the sultry look on his face as he seemed to be lightly nibbling on his bottom lip while looking at the camera.

“ _Damn!_ ” Kai looked up to see Chanyeol looking right at the phone in his hands. “That the guy you met?”  
“Yes,” Kai wasn’t about to lie, but it was a tad bit awkward feeling for him since Chanyeol saw that photo. Then again, he’s seen some of the photos Baekhyun has sent him. So perhaps they were even.  
“I’m glad for you.”  
“Thank you.”

There was a pause in the conversation so Kai used it to respond to Taemin.

_Kai:_  
_You’re kind of perfect looking. I hope you know that._

_Taemin:_  
_Only kind of?_

Kai couldn’t help but to smile at the phone screen and shake his head.

_Taemin:_  
_I’m sure you’re just upset you can’t see me in person._

_Kai:_  
_Perhaps._

_Taemin:_  
_I have to go. But I’ll text you later about us getting together again ;)_

_Kai:_  
_I look forward to it._

“He a one-night stand that turned into something else?” Kai looked over at Chanyeol with a surprised look. But slowly a smile crept onto his face before he nodded. “ _Woww._ I didn’t know I was partnered up with a dog,” Chanyeol laughed, but Kai joined him.  
“Don’t act like you and Baekhyun aren’t worse,” Kai retorted with a clear smirk on his lips.  
“Shut up, Kai.”  
“Come on, Chanyeol. I’m not wrong. How did you two meet again?” Surprisingly, Chanyeol actually reached over and hit Kai in his chest.  
“ _No, Kai._ Look!”

Kai finally turned to look at the house and narrowed his eyes. “Is that idiot leaving?” Sure, enough, the homeowner was opening his front door and looking around before quickly scurrying out of his own home. “We lose him he’s a goner,” Kai quickly muttered as he opened the car door to exit the vehicle.

He swiftly crossed the street before slowing to approach the clearly spooked man. “Excuse me, sir?” The man flinched as he looked up at Kai with wide eyes. Kai held out a hand to try and settle the man. “It’s okay! I’m not going to hurt you. I’m with the police. Here, let me show you my badge.” Slowly, Kai’s hand reached into his coat’s inner pocket.

Immediately the man turned and bolted the other way. “Shit! Chanyeol!” Kai yelled before chasing after the man. The man jumped the fence into his backyard and Kai could see him bounce over the opposite side of the fence before he could reach it. He jumped as his hands grasped the top of the wooden fence and he pulled himself up to go over it. Right as soon as he was about to swing a leg over a large dog jumped up on the fence snarling and snapping up at Kai. “Go around, Chanyeol!” Kai yelled as he turned to look behind him, which he immediately saw Chanyeol slow to turn and run around that block.

“Good dog, hey, hi,” Kai cooed at the dog who was at least settling into barking at him rather than snapping at him. “ _Hey, there buddy. Look let’s make a deal. You let me past and I’ll get you a nice steak. Yeah? How does sound?_ ” Kai was practically baby talking the dog as he slowly swung a leg over the fence. Well, the dog not biting his foot off was a promising start. Eventually he was in the backyard and the dog wasn’t approaching him, but wasn’t being aggressive either. “ _Good boy~_ ” He cooed some more as he crossed the yard. Right when he was at the other fence he ran to jump it and sure enough, the dog started acting aggressive again. He managed to barely clear the fence as the dog jumped up on the fence snapping again, luckily not able to jump high enough.

Kai could see the man still running down the alleyway so he dropped down into it just as Chanyeol was running down the alleyway after him. Those long legs actually were quite useful when it came down to it.

They chased the man through the alleyways, begging him to stop running, but it fell on deaf ears. The man jumped a chain link fence so naturally, Chanyeol and Kai followed him over it. Kai heard Chanyeol swear and he turned to find the man sitting on top of it, a stray wire digging into his pants. “I’m fine! Go on ahead!” Chanyeol yelled, so Kai turned back around and went to back to the chase.

Only problem was that by now he was far behind.

After weaving through the alleyways for about another minute Kai officially lost the guy. He heard a trash can fall over down a parallel alleyway so he ran over towards that. But it was only a cat that had knocked it over. He swore as he looked around, trying to catch his breath.

_Pop! Pop! Pop!_

“ _Shit,_ ” Kai swore at the sound of gunshots in the distance and simply ran towards it as he called in that shots were fired in the area.

It wasn’t too long before he came across a convenience store that had a few people gathered around it. Kai could easily see the blood splattered on the sidewalk. The closer he got to the scene the more he could see the body on the ground.

The man he had been chasing earlier.

\---

It didn’t take long for more uniforms to arrive at the scene. Chanyeol eventually caught up as well, his pants torn down the lower side on his left leg. Kai already spoke with everyone at the scene, but no one actually witnessed the crime.

Once again… They had nothing.

To say Kai was frustrated would be a vast understatement.

\-----

“My kitchen smells like smoke and garlic. What is happening?”

The only respite Kai had from the stress work brought on was Taemin’s light and breathy laughter.

“You agreed to this! Trust me!” Taemin laughed as he turned to try and playfully push Kai out of his own kitchen. Kai only grabbed his wrists as he beamed at the shorter man.  
“I don’t know if I can trust the person that is smoking up my kitchen.”  
“Out, out, out.” Taemin chided as he pulled out of Kai’s grasp only to nudge him out of the kitchen once again.  
“This your idea of a proper first date?”  
“It’s a surprise. You said you like surprises. So go, watch TV or something.”  
“Fine, fine. Just don’t burn the place down. Promise?”  
“I swear it!”  
“I’m the police, just so you know. You burn my place down, I’ll have to arrest you.”  
“Okay, I get it, you’re a big scary cop. Out.”

With some laughter Kai finally walked out of the kitchen to go into the living room. But about fifteen minutes later he was getting kicked out of that room too. “Go. Go to the bedroom.”  
“You gonna join me?”  
“No.”  
“Then why should I go?”

Taemin only laughed some more as he pushed Kai through the door. “I’m almost done! Be patient. Give me like… Ten minutes!” Kai sighed at Taemin’s enthusiasm. His arm went to hook around Taemin’s waist to pull him closer.  
“Only because of the way you look tonight,” Kai’s words were far more husky than he intended before he pressed his lips against Taemin’s.

To be fair, Taemin was wearing the same outfit he wore in the photo he sent Kai the other night. Black slacks with that black button up from before. Both of them looked like they were prepared for a proper night out, as Kai was dressed similarly. But a white shirt rather than a black one. If they threw on suit jackets they’d look like proper gentlemen.

Taemin finally pulled away from Kai, giving him a wink before shutting the door.

Sure enough, it was about ten minutes later when the door opened again.

Taemin peaked his head through before slipping into the bedroom to collect Kai off the bed. Kai let out a breath as he put his phone away. Taemin had unbuttoned a few of the top buttons of his shirt. It was still respectable, so to speak, but it left his chest exposed more now. Which that only made Kai want to pull him into the bed with him.

Once Kai got off the bed Taemin took his hand and led him back to the door. Once it opened Taemin let go of Kai’s hand to slip into the living room. Kai, on the other hand, was left a little awestruck.

The living room and dining room lights were off. The kitchen light was still on so that the light filtered into the dining and living area and didn’t leave them in complete darkness. But there were candles on the table along with a meal, Italian by the smell of it. There was also glasses of red wine on the table.

Wide eyed, Kai finally turned to find Taemin who was sheepishly smiling at him. “ _Taemin.._ ”  
“Ah, wait. There’s one more thing,” Taemin said as he reached for his phone, then suddenly he was playing some quiet music. Kai could only grin.  
“Dean Martin?”  
“He’s a classic. Sets the mood.”  
“I think the mood has already been set,” Kai laughed as he approached the table with grin on his face.

The feeling in his stomach was something indescribable. He felt younger. He felt special. He felt wanted. And he felt appreciated. Taemin really did all this for him. Taemin told him over texts he’d like to do something special for him. But he had no idea he wanted to do something _this_ special for him.

The two sat down together and ate. The food was actually pretty incredible. They may not have said too much while they ate. But Kai couldn’t help but to look at Taemin often with a big goofy smile.

He was enamored already.

Both of them started to slow down as they began to get full. But it was only momentary as Taemin was suddenly leaping up as the song changed. He grabbed Kai’s hand to pull him out of his seat. “What is this?” Kai asked with a chuckle.  
“Dance with me.”

Well, Kai couldn’t refuse such a request, could he?

It was playful and fun at first. Kai let out a loud laugh when he realized what song was playing. “ _That’s Amore._ ”

“When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine, that’s amore~” Kai recovered just in time to sing that much as best as he could before laughing some more as he simply swayed in a circle with Taemin. Taemin was laughing just as much with the biggest grin on his face.  
“Seems like we both might’ve had too much wine,” He mused as one of his hands cupped Kai’s cheek. Kai was certain he probably felt how warm his cheeks were, proving he has had quite a bit of wine.  
“Perhaps,” Kai hummed some as he mirrored the large grin Taemin was wearing. Taemin’s thumb ran itself along his cheek and Kai found himself leaning into his touch more and more. It was then that their grins began to fade.

When Kai’s eyes met Taemin’s once more he felt the passion coiling in his stomach. That breathless look Taemin was wearing was far more intoxicating than the wine. Kai didn’t even realize the both of them had stopped moving completely. Not until the song changing to “ _Sway_ ” seemed to make both of them snap out of it.

Taemin pulled his hand away from Kai’s face but moved closer to him, so that they were only a few inches apart. Then he began to lead them to dance once again and he even sang a little. But it only made Kai’s body temperature skyrocket.

“Hold me close. Sway me more~” Their practiced feet moved around the darkened living area as the music played. Taemin was looking at Kai with a bit of an impressed expression. “I didn’t know you could dance, officer.”  
“Eh, a little.”  
“Don’t bullshit me, Kai. I know how you can move your hips,” Taemin’s brow raised, almost daringly. Kai could feel his heart starting to race as he subconsciously wet his lips. Taemin’s eyes dropped down to his lips for the moment and Kai wanted to do nothing more than drag him into that bedroom.

Kai only communicated his desire by stepping closer so they were a hair’s breadth away from each other. He leaned in a little closer and Taemin naturally tilted his head some. But for a long moment Kai didn’t kiss him, he only shared breath with him.

So _very_ slowly Kai leaned in to press his lips against Taemin’s. It was slow, unlike their previous night together. It was purposeful. Taemin’s arms wrapped around Kai’s neck, pulling him closer so that their bodies pressed against each other. Kai’s hands latched onto Taemin’s waist accordingly. But only for the moment.

His hands let go of Taemin’s hips the moment Taemin tilted his head and allowed Kai to deepen the kiss. Kai’s hands ran up Taemin’s torso to his chest until he could reach the top buttons. He slowly began to unbutton the buttons on his shirt. The kiss broke so Kai’s lips could brush against Taemin’s skin, down to his neck.

Taemin’s shirt was completely unbuttoned when Kai attached his lips onto Taemin’s neck. He began sucking a dark mark on the man’s neck. Kai’s hands began to explore Taemin’s torso, wanting to memorize every inch of him. Even if the music was still playing Kai could only hear Taemin’s shaky breath.

“What do you want?” Taemin sounded so out of breath as his raspy voice spoke up. An amused sound escaped the back of Kai’s throat as he stopped abusing the one spot on Taemin’s neck. He knew exactly what he wanted.

Kai wanted to take his time with Taemin tonight.

“I want my name to be the only thing leaving your lips for the rest of the night,” He breathed against Taemin’s skin.  
“Then you’ll get just that.”

\------

The following morning Taemin stuck around to help Kai with the cleanup.

Kai once again made Taemin breakfast. So once the two finished cleaning they were sat at the dining table.

“What kind of cop are you? Traffic?” Taemin asked with a slight tilt of his head.  
“Homicide detective.”  
“ _Really??_ ” Taemin’s eyes widened once again as his grin grew. “That’s actually really attractive. I’ve bedded a detective not once, but twice.”

Kai let out a little chuckle as he shook his head. Taemin was cute, but this conversation and what happened last night left him not smiling as brightly as he should be. He looked down at his plate and rubbed his forehead.

“Are you okay?”

The concern in Taemin’s voice made Kai look up, but his eyes lingered on the possessive mark he left on Taemin’s neck. “Yeah. Yeah… I’m fine,” Kai sighed and Taemin pursed his lips, not believing him obviously. “I-... I just want to know what you want out of this. I mean, forgive me if I’m reaching for too much. But last night. I’d like to believe that it was something special. Not just sleeping buddy kind of stuff, to put it nicely.”

Kai could see Taemin hesitate. It made his heart sink. But what he didn’t expect was Taemin suddenly giving him a soft smile. “Do you want to call me your boyfriend, Kai?” It left a bit of a blush on Kai’s cheeks. But he nodded without saying anything else. “Then I’m your boyfriend. Consider last night our first date.”  
“That simple?”  
“Yeah. That simple. But Kai, you do have to still be okay with my line of work. And also, being okay with me not telling you which club I work at. I can’t have a jealous boyfriend showing up at the club. It’s not good for business.” Taemin at least was honest with Kai, he appreciated it. But sure, there were borderlines that had to be made. He’d just have to be okay with this, because quite frankly he wanted Taemin.

“Alright. I think I can do that.”

Taemin’s smile grew, but what he did next surprised Kai. He actually placed his hands on the table to lean over it so that he could press his lips against Kai’s. “ _Mm. I got myself quite the handsome detective wrapped around my finger. Don’t I?_ ” Taemin purred as the two continued to share breath for another moment before their lips connected once again.

\------

As soon as Kai stepped into the police department he was greeted by Chanyeol who was all smiles. “You’re never gonna believe this.”  
“What?”  
“I’m not telling you. Come on. There’s someone here that wants to speak with you.”

Kai sighed but followed after Chanyeol who led him to a closed off interview room where a man was sitting. Kai walked into the room and Chanyeol shut the door behind them. “Hello, I’m detective Kim. How can I help you?”

“I… I uh- I… Uhm. How do I explain?”

Kai turned to give Chanyeol a look, but Chanyeol just nodded off towards the man. So, Kai turned back around.

“I saw what happened to that one guy. I saw the one that filled him with holes.”

Finally, Kai’s jaw dropped.

“You saw the shooter?”  
“Yes.”  
“Would you be willing to testify if we found him?”

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately this may be my last update for like two weeks. Or I could by lying to y'all. Idk. But I'm gonna be outta town next week. So yeah! But here's some Valentine's day fluff for ya to make up for it =]


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo it's ya girl, back at it again.
> 
> Apologies for the delay and disappearance. Apparently when I have mental breakdowns I can no longer effectively write. Well, that and stress and lack of time to do so. College is taxing, my dudes. But I'm out for the rest of the year due to me taking a break from school! I'm not going to promise no drop offs, because shit happens. But hey! Here's hoping I can finish this fic before another one! =D

“Hey, what’s up??”

Concern was etched on Kai’s face as he sat down in a chair across a small table from Taemin. “Nothing really,” Taemin responded as he beamed at Kai. But this left Kai with a bit of a confused expression as he regarded the other man.  
“You texted me asking if I could meet you… Is something wrong?”

Taemin only laughed at Kai’s question before shaking his head. “It’s called a date. Has it really been that long since you’ve gone on one?” Immediately Kai could feel his cheeks heat up so he anxiously glanced around. Yeah… He did suppose a date made more sense. Considering they were in a little cafe and Taemin did look cute in his off-pink sweater.

Finally, Kai turned back to face Taemin as he rubbed his forehead, “I’m sorry. It’s… Been a while and a long day.”  
“Well, nothing a good cup of tea and pleasant company can’t help, hm?”  
“I suppose you’re right.”

Taemin gave Kai a face that suggested he didn’t believe him.

“Work stressing you out?”  
“Well, not exactly. I’m tired. I’m about to have to do _a lot_ of work, but then this bullshit case I’ve been working on for a while now will be over.”  
“Oh? That’s exciting. We should celebrate when you finish it!”

Taemin knew exactly how to pull a genuine smile out of him. He could tell this made Taemin happy since he smiled even bigger. Well, Kai could think of a few things the two could do together to celebrate when the time comes.

“I’d like that. Tomorrow we are meeting the lawyer that’s hopefully going to take the case to coordinate with him. Then once it goes to grand jury you and I can celebrate, hm?”  
“I’ll make it worth your while, Kim Kai.”

A smirk came to Kai’s lips, especially when Taemin raised his eyebrows. He could make time for him tonight…

He glanced down at his phone as it vibrated and saw Chanyeol’s name. “Hey, uh, to switch gears. Um… Actually, forget it, it’s probably too soon.”  
“Oh no. No. Now you gotta tell me what was on your mind.”  
“Fine, fine. I just-... My partner, Chanyeol. I’d like you to meet him. I mean, he already knows we’re a thing.”

Taemin gave Kai the warmest smile he thought he’s ever seen. His head tilted to the side some and Kai wanted to jump over this table to kiss him.

_Time and place, Kai, time and place._

“I’d love to meet him.”

That was enough to snap Kai out of it for the moment. “Really? I imagine it’d be pretty easy to set something up with him and his husband. But... We could wait a week or two. That way it doesn’t feel so sudden. Yeah?”  
“Whatever makes you happy.”

\------

“So, the district attorney himself took an interest?”  
“He’s young, got something to prove. What we want in a prosecutor, right?”  
“Mm. I suppose you’re right. But why meet us here?”  
“Convenience, I guess?” Kai shrugged before he reached for a door knob.

The two men entered the office area. Immediately a man sitting in front of the desk stood up. With a smile on his face as he buttoned the jacket to his three-piece suit while he nodded to the pair. “Ah, glad to see you detectives.”  
“Good to see you, Suho,” Kai nodded his head as he reached out to shake Suho’s hand. He stepped to the side as Chanyeol reached out to shake his hand and the two exchanged pleasantries as well.

“You both know Yixing, I take it?” Suho gestured over to the man sitting behind the desk who gave a little wave. Both Kai and Chanyeol dipped their heads in respect.  
“Of course.”  
“Good, he’s gonna be our judge for this case.”  
“ _Really?_ ” Chanyeol asked with raised brows as he stepped further into the room. Yixing only gave a smile and nodded.

“Let’s see what you got.” Suho turned to Kai and so he passed over the copy of the case file and Suho opened it to skim through it. “You have just the one suspect?”  
“Yep,” Kai gave a slight nod as Suho continued to run through the evidence they had.  
“You know you don’t have that much on him?”  
“An eyewitness that knew the guy from when he was young should be enough,” Chanyeol piped up. Suho looked up with a raised brow before looking back down at the folder with a bit of a sigh.  
“Mm. Only if he cracks and takes a plea deal and gives us the other thugs he associates with.”  
“Put pressure on him.”  
“Capital murder charge not enough pressure for you, Chanyeol?”

Both detectives paused as a smirk grew on Suho’s face. The man clearly pleased with their surprise. Kai glanced over at Yixing who was wearing the same soft smile.

“You’re going to push for that???” Kai asked as he turned back to Suho.  
“You want him to crack, don’t you?”  
“You’re going to back that?” The question then turned on Yixing.  
“Once you lovely gentlemen arrest the man we can be able to tell a story of a violent criminal. One that does not like loose ends. What kind of human being sets a man’s car on fire a week before he kills him as a warning? A Mafioso of old, if you ask me. Now, do your average citizens want that kind of man out on the streets?” The judge continued to sit in his chair with the same soft smile from before as he spoke. Kai found himself silent once again.

“Yixing you’re more sadistic than that dimple of yours likes to suggest.”

Suho and Yixing both let out a little chuckle at Chanyeol’s comment but Kai was still floored. They could have a chance at finally cracking down on the gang, but it would be a game of Russian roulette. If the suspect didn’t crack… Well, then... They’d be back at square one.

“Time for me to sign an arrest warrant for you two, hmm?” Yixing’s sweet voice made Kai nod, but he was still a little lost in his thoughts. Either way, they did have quite the power couple when it came to a judge and prosecutor, didn’t they? Perhaps they were in luck.

\-----

Teeth trapped a plush bottom lip in them as rough hands ran up the other man’s bare torso. This was enough to draw a breathless whine from him. Kai let go of Taemin’s lip to roughly press his lips against the others with his own groan. He wanted to swallow up every sound Taemin made. He wanted to leave this bedroom with a busted lip and he wanted Taemin to leave with a hoarse voice.

Taemin’s hands pressed against Kai’s shoulders hard enough to start to flip their positions on the bed. But Kai’s hands quickly grabbed Taemin’s wrists as he smirked against his lips, breaking the kiss. “I don’t think so,” the man growled as he pressed Taemin’s hands down into the bed. “Not tonight, baby.” His lips reattached themselves to his neck to create another possessive mark.

“ _Kai._ ”

Immediately Kai pulled away from Taemin’s neck to meet his eyes, he hadn’t heard him say his name like that before. Was he scared? Kai couldn’t blame him if he startled him. Kai looked wild with dilated pupils, wide eyed, dark messy bangs hanging almost down to his eyes and sweat running down the side of his face. Not to mention he was fully aware that his testosterone levels were a little out of control right now. But he knew that was going to be the case. Raids always did this to him. Kicking down doors, aiming weapons at someone while yelling orders before slapping cuffs on them… It gave one a power high. Hell, even Baekhyun was always shameless enough to say that raids were terrible for his heart and peace of mind, but wonderful for his sex life.

“What’d you call me?”  
“ _What?_ ”  
“What’d you call me?”  
“What?? I don’t-” Kai had no idea where this was going, he barely remembered what he said. “ _Baby._ ” He finally remembered what he called Taemin in the heat of the moment. _Shit._ That was way too soon wasn’t it? This led to him loosening his grip on Taemin’s wrists, so he could get out of his grip if he wanted.

Taemin pressed his lips against Kai’s once again as his hips rocked upwards against Kai’s, drawing a groan from him. “ _I like it,_ ” the man under him breathed between their heated kisses, but Kai was quick to swallow it up.

\------

Two weeks passed since Kai and Chanyeol got to lead the raid to arrest their suspect. So, at the moment they get to take a breather, since most of the work has gotten passed on to Suho. There was still the bureaucratic hell that came with a case like this… All the paperwork that he needed to do...

But for now, they could take a breather.

Kai had suggested a couples dinner to Baekhyun and Chanyeol. The pair readily agreed, ever eager to meet the mystery man that has been blowing up Kai’s phone. Taemin seemed just as eager to meet the two, which Kai could only take as a good sign. But he was still nervous. Things always have a chance to turn out poorly, don’t they? But Baekhyun and Chanyeol were both good with other people, well, outside of work anyways.

“Kai… Your palm is sweating,” Taemin pointed out as the pair walked up to the nice little home Chanyeol and Baekhyun owned.  
“ _I’m nervous, okay?_ ” Kai muttered as a touch of color decided to show itself on his cheeks. Taemin grinned over at Kai, likely finding the entire thing adorable. “Aren’t you?”  
“Well, sure. But it’s not like we’re about to be in a shootout.”

Of course, Taemin had to point out that Kai has dealt with worse.

“Low blow.”  
“Mm. Careful, I’ll keep making jokes.”  
“You and Baekhyun will get along great.”

Kai barely knocked on the front door before it swung open. “Kai!” Baekhyun’s ever bright grin greeting them. Baekhyun went in for a hug, which was awkward for him since he had to let go of Taemin’s hand to wrap his arms around Baekhyun. “It takes you getting a date to come over for dinner? Is my food that bad???”  
“ _Well…_ ”  
“In my defense Chanyeol might’ve cooked the last meal.”

With a laugh the pair separated, full well knowing Chanyeol’s cooking was always good. Then with the same grin he turned to a smiling Taemin and gave him a dip of his head before extending his hand. “I’m Baekhyun.”  
“Taemin,” Taemin introduced himself as he took Baekhyun’s hand with a nod of his head.  
“Wonderful to finally meet you! But I know how this one can be,” Baekhyun was already sharing a chuckle with Taemin as Kai let out a sigh.  
“How I can be?”  
“You get nervous,” Baekhyun said as he looked over at Kai, drawing a louder laugh from Taemin.

Baekhyun finally stepped into the home. So, Kai gestured for Taemin to go ahead and follow after Baekhyun while he held the door. “It’s so homey in here,” Taemin commented as he stepped into the living room as Baekhyun led them towards the kitchen.  
“Thank you! Means a lot, really. Especially when Chanyeol and I are-” Baekhyun closed his mouth before grinning again. That was something Kai hasn’t seen him do. “Never mind. Sorry, I can ramble a lot! Let’s get you onto meeting Chanyeol so we can eat, yeah?”

Chanyeol was finishing up placing the napkins for everyone. He was also setting the bottles of wine down. The fact that there were multiple bottles hinted what kind of trouble tonight could end up as. “ _You have any plans for tomorrow morning?_ ” Kai quietly asked as he leaned over to Taemin.  
“ _No?_ ”  
“ _Good._ ”  
“So, Taemin! This is _my_ partner Chanyeol. Even if Kai likes to claim him as his own, he put a ring on my finger.”

Kai immediately groaned even as Chanyeol laughed. So, the bad jokes were coming out early now, weren’t they? But this was nice, wasn’t it? Taemin eagerly walking up to Chanyeol to shake his hand. Chanyeol immediately acting as if he has known him forever. Sure, Kai talked about him to Chanyeol while they were bored sitting in a car at work. But watching Chanyeol and Baekhyun both welcome Taemin so warmly and Taemin look genuinely happy… Well, to be simple enough… It was nice. Really nice. Despite Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s occasional bad jokes Kai found himself smiling at the three. It’s been so long since they have had a couples dinner where he felt _warm._ Maybe that’s why he was so nervous, so tense.

“Kai?” Taemin’s voice snapped Kai out of the daze he was in, causing him to blink as he focused on his laughing boyfriend.  
“Hm?”  
“Come on, let’s sit down.” Taemin held out his hand to Kai to prompt him to move closer to him. Of course, Kai took his hand and walked over to the dining table with him.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol served the two their meal and wine before joining the pair to eat. They were all silent while they initially enjoyed the food. But then conversations had to be had, and of course they were exactly what Kai was dreading. The stereotypical cringey questions.

“So, what do you do Taemin?” Kai _knew_ Chanyeol had to have told Baekhyun since he told him what Taemin did. But he figured Baekhyun was biting the bullet to get it out of the way. Or at least that’s what he hoped for.  
“Uhm, well, I’m a dancer.”  
“ _Really?_ ” Chanyeol and Kai both were quick to shoot a look at Baekhyun, but the man ignored their silent warnings. “If you ever have time can you teach me a few tricks?” Chanyeol choked on his wine once he realized the direction Baekhyun was going with this. Taemin only grinned and laughed before giving a slight nod.  
“Of course, yeah. I’d love to.”  
“Oh, he’d love it. You always have said you like dancing, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun seemed like a child who got told they could have the biggest toy in the toy store. Considering the way he was beaming and looking between Taemin and Chanyeol. Then again, he often acted like that with Chanyeol anyways.

“How’d you meet?”  
“You two did that actually,” Kai was quick to answer Chanyeol’s question, that they both knew he knew the answer to.  
“What?”  
“Well, you wanted to go dance. Remember?” Kai gave Baekhyun a bit of a pointed look until the man’s cheeks turned a little red.  
“ _Oh,_ no… I don’t but that sounds like me, doesn’t it?”

Kai laughed as he shook his head, full well knowing Baekhyun had a lot to drink that night.

“I got lucky and found a handsome man sitting alone at the bar. _And_ to top things off he was single.” Taemin filled in the rest of the gaps as he looked over at Kai with blatantly fond smile.

The small group continued to get to know Taemin. But Baekhyun looked up at Chanyeol with those puppy dog eyes. “Hm?”  
“Can we tell them yet???”  
“Tell them what…?”  
“Chanyeol, you _are not_ serious right now.”  
“... What?”

With a dramatic sigh Baekhyun turned away from Chanyeol. The man still seemed a little lost as Baekhyun looked back at Taemin and Kai with a strangely shy grin. “Well, in that case I’m telling you.” His gaze momentarily looked over at Kai, who had a brow raised in curiosity. “We’re putting money away for adoption.”

Kai was certain his jaw dropped. Immediately his eyes shot over to Chanyeol. How has he not said anything about this, yet? “Holy shit. That’s awesome you guys!” Kai was happy for them, truly. Even Taemin seemed to express some excitement over the prospect.

“It won’t be something we can do _right now._ I mean, obviously. But… One of those spare bedrooms, we’ve been talking about how we can turn it into a kid’s room. And... Well, we’re hoping that maybe with some luck and persistence that by next year we can start the process. We both have stable incomes and are comfortable enough right now. It… It feels like the right time, and I don’t know. I’m excited!” Baekhyun certainly did shine with his excitement as he spoke. But Kai didn’t miss the way Chanyeol was smiling down at Baekhyun, nothing but love in his gaze.

They were happy. They deserved that. They deserved each other.

“ _SO_ , we have to work on being responsible adults in the meantime. But… Tonight we can celebrate, yeah?”  
“There it is,” Kai couldn’t help but to laugh as Baekhyun gestured to the wine bottles.

\--

Two hours and two tipsy games of charades later Kai realized he was beyond capable of driving home tonight. Taemin was no better. Shit, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were just as bad off. Both of them were laughing much louder and more often at this point. There were times they would look at each other and descend into giggles.

“I don’t think we’re going home tonight. No, we definitely aren’t actually.” Kai finally piped up from the sofa he was leaning back in, finally feeling exhaustion set in.  
“Kai, you know where the spare bedroom is. Don’t act like you haven’t used it before,” Chanyeol was so kind to point out.

Kai turned his head to Taemin who was sitting next to him. It felt like his brain was a drink sloshing around so it took him a second to focus on him. “You tired?”

“Mm” was all the response Taemin gave him. Kai stood up, holding his hands out to account for any balance issues. Then he held out a hand for Taemin and with great effort he pulled the man to his feet. Only for them to sway together for a few moments.

“You two are cute~” Chanyeol hummed as he was laying down on top of Baekhyun on the other sofa, not that Baekhyun seemed to mind. Taemin gave him his thanks, but Kai was quick to lead Taemin towards the spare bedroom.

Once the door shut behind them and the two were able to quite literally fall into the bed, they both let out a breath. “I like them,” Taemin declared before he sat up enough to look down at Kai.  
“Well, I like you.” Kai had no idea why he felt the need to include that.  
“I sure hope you do.”  
“Do you like me?” The giggle Kai got in response to his question made him feel warm again, or maybe it was just the alcohol.  
“I do.”  
“Promise?” There was another giggle from Taemin as Kai went to hold one of his hands.  
“I promise.”  
“Really?”  
“Only under one condition.”  
“Hm?”  
“You promise that you like me.”  
“What if I can’t?”

Taemin gave Kai a mock pointed look, but that was probably because Kai couldn’t control his grin at the moment. “ _Kim Kai…_ ”  
“Okay, I promise!”  
“Do you really?”  
“Yes, baby. I promise that I like you.”  
“Mm. You’re cute, Mr. Police Officer.” The volume of Taemin’s voice got quieter as he leaned in to give Kai a lazy kiss.

\--------

“Where were you on the night of the fifth?”  
“In my convenience store…”

Kai was sitting in the back of the courtroom watching things unfold. It felt like forever and a day to get to this point, he may as well see it all through. Their perpetrator refused to take the plea deal, which meant Suho put the young man’s ass on trial. Their witness was nervous, which wasn’t much of a surprise to Kai. They were always nervous.

“Anything happen that night that stood out to you?”  
“Yes.”  
“Such as?”  
“Someone was shot right outside the door.”  
“Did you see it?”  
“I didn’t see the gunshot, but I ran to the door... Hoping to lock it..”  
“And did you see the victim and the assailant?”  
“They were right by the door, yes.”  
“Did you see the assailant well enough to identify him or her?”  
“Yes.”

It was then that Suho turned to the courtroom. Shooting the defendant the smug smirk he wore right before he could have the book thrown at someone. “Do you see the assailant in this courtroom today?”  
“I-... No.”  
“ _Excuse me?_ ”

Kai shared Suho’s shock as the district attorney turned to face the witness. The smugness wiped clean from his expression. “No, sir... I don’t- I don’t see him here.”  
“Excuse me, but are you saying you lied to us on multiple occasions? Do I need to remind you of the statement you gave police?”  
“Well, I-... It was dark and I was-”  
“Answer yes or no. Did you lie to police when you filled out your original statement?”  
“I-”  
“ _Yes. Or no._ ”  
“No…”  
“Have you been threatened, bribed or coerced to lie here on the stand?”

The witness looked up at Suho with the saddest eyes before he looked down at his feet, refusing to answer. Kai was frowning as he watched this. The man was older and with no family… Surely threats wouldn’t work so well on him, at least compared to others. But… _Shit._

“Your honor, permission to approach?”

Yixing looked at Suho and nodded. Allowing Suho and the defense attorney to privately approach him to speak with him. It gave Kai time to inwardly groan as he rubbed his face. _Shit, shit, shit._

“This session is over. Court dismissed,” Yixing announced before slamming the gavel down.

\--

“Suho! What the hell was-” Kai stopped dead in his tracks as he stormed into Suho’s office later that day. Namely because Suho wasn’t the only one in there.

“Kai, good to see you,” The assistant district attorney said in his typical smooth voice, as if Kai wasn’t just yelling.  
“Kyungsoo,” Kai gave the shorter man a nod.  
“Thank you for your help Kyungsoo. Apologies. But I’m going to ask you to give Kai and I some privacy,” Suho said with a heavy breath, clearly as stressed as Kai was. So, Kyungsoo gave them both a bow before leaving. Kai’s eyes watching him go until he disappeared behind the closing door.

“What happened?”  
“I could ask you the same thing, Kai.”  
“So what’s your plan?”  
“We’re going to work on a very generous plea deal. Minimal time in jail, if not house arrest.”  
“You’re going from capital murder to this??”  
“What else do you want us to do? _Hm?_ You said that witness was solid. But now he’s highly in question. The jury won’t trust him.”

Kai sighed as he rubbed his forehead in thought. _Stalemate._

“If you want to stop this you best figure out who the hell is putting pressure on your witness. _Soon._ Now, forgive me Kai, but I have other things to attend to.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Chanyeol, you know this is a bad idea.”  
“I know! I know! But… It’s date night and-”  
“I wouldn’t let him go without me.”

Kai sat there in the black car, turned around in the passenger seat to face Baekhyun. His lip curled up some as he looked at the smaller man.

“What?! You just want to talk to a guy! I figured I come and then Chanyeol and I can immediately go on our date afterwards.”  
“ _Baekhyun-_ ” Kai started in a harsh voice, but immediately cut himself off when Chanyeol’s head snapped over to him. “Baekhyun… What was it you said about being more responsible?”

Both husbands paused for a moment as they hopefully let that sink in.

Kai was still irritated. But he knew Baekhyun was stubborn and Chanyeol was too protective. “If this goes poorly it’s _your_ ass, Chanyeol.” Kai muttered as he opened the car door to the witness’s home. He’d let Chanyeol take the heat for endangering a civilian if anything went south.

Either way, they walked up the driveway to the home.

“ _Kai._ ”

Kai stopped to turn to his partner, assuming he had more to say about the whole Baekhyun situation. But Chanyeol was looking over at the car parked in the driveway. So, with a bit of a frustrated huff Kai walked over to the car, finding the driver’s window had been busted out. And boarded up with some cardboard.

He peered inside the vehicle as best he could through a back window. But it wasn’t the easiest to see since the sun had already set. So, he rummaged around his pockets for a small flashlight. Once the light was able to illuminate some of the car interior he leaned against the window. “ _Chanyeol._ ”  
“Hmm?”  
“Tell me I’m not crazy,” Kai muttered before stepping to the side to let Chanyeol lean against the window.  
“Is… Is part of the backseat burnt..?”  
“That’s what I’m thinking..”

Chanyeol pulled away and gave Kai his flashlight, his lips pursed as he looked at his partner. “What does that mean...?” Baekhyun spoke up as he stood in the driveway behind the two. Kai ever so slightly shook his head. He wasn’t outright going to say “I told you so” about bringing Baekhyun along, but here they were.

“Baekhyun, go get in the car. _Now._ If you see anyone drive away. I don’t care if you see someone walking their cat on a leash. Leave. Don’t go home. Go straight to the station. Okay?”  
“ _Chanyeol, I-_ ”  
“Okay??”  
“ _Okay._ ”

It was rare to hear Chanyeol be so firm with, Baekhyun. But this was a rather serious situation. So as if he were a puppy that just got a scolding Baekhyun went back to the chair. His head down until he got into the car. Meanwhile Kai and Chanyeol continued their approach up to the door.

“Police!” Chanyeol announced themselves as he knocked on the door. But all he had to do was hit the door for it open up completely with no one behind it. It was already ajar. The detectives exchanged looks before pulling out their weapons. Slowly they stepped into the home.

“Hello?” Kai asked with a loud enough voice to hopefully be heard throughout the home.

They walked through the home, but it didn’t take long for them to find him.

Once they stepped into the kitchen they could see the blood.

“ _Shit._ ”

“I’ll check the rest of the home,” Chanyeol muttered. Kai nodded before walking around the kitchen island to find the body of their witness.

There were some bruises on the older man’s arms and hands. He struggled. But ultimately, he got shot in the neck. _Bad way to go._

“The rest of the place is clear.” Chanyeol came back into the kitchen area and Kai turned around to look at him.  
“Call a cab for Baekhyun. You’re gonna want him to get out of here before everyone else comes out. Sorry about your date night.”

Well, here’s another murder to solve.

\--

“Well… This is quite the shit pile we’ve stepped in... Isn’t it?”

Suho’s voice only drew a frown from Kai as he looked down at the body of their star witness. His thoughts were all over the place. He felt stumped and he hated it. It made him angry. “What do you think is going to happen with the case now?” Chanyeol was the one to ask the question on their minds. But Kai had a sneaking suspicion of what the answer was going to be.

He looked up to see Suho running his hand through his hair as he let out a heavy sigh. “Well, if Yixing doesn’t declare a mistrial then I’m going to dismiss the charges. We don’t have enough evidence to go forward. We played our hand too soon, boys. For now, we’ve lost. Come back to me when you have more evidence.”

With that, Suho left the crime scene. Kai groaned as he could physically feel his stress sinking into every muscle.

\-----

_Kai:_  
_Are you awake?_

_Taemin:_  
_Yes._

Immediately Kai hit the call button and put his phone to his ear. He was pacing inside the locker room of the police station. Considering it was two in the morning, it was empty. But Kai did keep peering at the door just in case.

_Hey, what’s up?_

Taemin’s voice caused Kai to pause for a brief second. “Tae-,” he stopped, unsure of what to even say. All he knew was that there was no background sound, so Taemin wasn't at work. So that was reassuring that he wasn’t keeping him. But he was still at a loss for words.

_Kai?_  
“I- uh… I-...”  
_What’s wrong?_  
“We lost the case, Taemin. I-... We just lost it.” Kai didn’t even know what he was saying at this point, so he covered his face as if someone could see him. He could hear Taemin let out a breath on the other end of the line. He didn’t talk too much about work, because well… He couldn’t. But Taemin knew how much this had meant to him.

_Months_ of work… Lost.

_Are you done at the station...?_  
“Yeah.”  
_Come over to my place, okay?_  
“Are you sure?”  
_I’m going to text you the address, okay? Just come over._  
“Okay… I’ll see you soon.”

\---

It was strange to be headed to Taemin’s place. He’s never been there. He didn’t even know where it was. He shouldn’t be surprised it was on the rougher side of town, considering Taemin’s profession. But this only left him worried about him. Especially when he pulled into the parking lot and heard a sharp whistle from somewhere in the darkness. Then there was another one further away.

_Damn gangs…_

So, Kai held his hands up as he got out of his car, full well knowing there were eyes on him. Best to say he wasn’t a threat. It was crazy how quickly thugs on the streets could recognize a car that belonged to a cop. It wasn’t so unusual for them to warn the others in the area that a cop was on the scene. Especially if they had operations nearby.

And Kai was a cop all alone here. No partner.

At least he still had his weapon on him.

He grabbed a backpack out of his backseat, doing a quick once over his car. He didn’t want to leave anything valuable behind. He also said a quick prayer to the powers that be that his car wouldn’t be on cinder blocks whenever he came back.

Now it was a quick huff into the apartment building and up to Taemin’s apartment. A _quick_ one.

He knocked on the door and he waited a few moments before he heard the deadbolts be unlocked. Then the door opened. It was strange to see Taemin look at him like he was a kicked puppy. But he stepped back so Kai could step inside the apartment. Kai quickly grabbed the door from Taemin’s hand to shut it and he locked all the locks on it. But then he was quick to embrace Taemin.

It was strange, any other time he’d see Taemin in _just_ a black robe would be enough to shift his mood somewhere else. But he still felt numb. Like a child he buried his face in the crook of Taemin’s neck as his hands clung to the soft robe on his back. Fingers ran through Kai’s hair on the back of his head while Taemin’s other hand was rubbing his back. Softly he shushed Kai. It felt nice. Even if this feeling was so draining.

“Come on, Kai.”

Taemin pulled away from him to grab his hand, pulling him through the apartment. This was the first time Kai actually looked at his surroundings. Windows were covered with thick blackout curtains covered all the windows. His furnishings were nice quality. But the apartment itself did look like the building outside. _Old. Worn down._ Even if Taemin tried to make it look nicer, there was only so much he could do.

Taemin opened a door that led into a small bedroom. The door was shut and Kai was sat down on the edge of the bed. Then Taemin helped himself to straddling Kai. The robe he was wearing didn’t do much at this point. That alone earned a groan from Kai as Taemin pressed his lips against his own. Taemin’s hands settled on his shoulders, it was only then that Kai realized he was still tensing them.

“ _Relax,_ ” Taemin’s soft voice between kisses was definitely tempting. One of his hands ran up the back of his neck and to his hair. The other hand ran up the other side of his neck to cup his jawline. His soft hands caused chills to coat Kai’s skin as his eyes fell shut. “ _Focus on me, nothing else._ ” Taemin’s voice was just as soft of his hands and _oh,_ Kai loved it. If didn’t love looking at Taemin so much Kai wouldn’t mind giving up his sight to live in this moment forever. Only feeling and hearing Taemin.

“ _Only me._ ”

Kai let one of his hands snake under Taemin’s robe to run up one of his sides. He focused on the way the man lightly shuddered at his touch. “ _Only you,_ ” Kai breathed against Taemin’s lips. He could feel one corner of Taemin’s lips twitch up into a bit of a smirk. But he shuddered when Kai’s other hand went to his stomach and undid the front of the robe.

There were sirens of cops going down the street outside, but other that… The only sounds were Taemin’s shaky breathing and Kai’s own heavy breaths.

He needed Taemin. The only thing he wanted right now was Taemin. There was nothing else in this world that he wanted more than Taemin.

_Nothing._

“Just-...” Kai muttered as he pulled away from Taemin’s lips to bury his face in the crook of neck once again. Once more, he didn’t know how to vocalize his thoughts. It was almost like his brain was underwater. All he knew was Taemin. Nothing else. “ _Please,_ ” He breathed against Taemin’s skin.

“I’ll take care of you. Okay?”

Kai didn’t answer he only nodded. So Taemin’s hands abandoned Kai’s head to lift his shirt over his head, forcing Kai to lift his arms up and to pull back. A heavy breath left him when Taemin’s hands ran up his chest for a long moment. But his hands weren’t there for long. He threw his shoulders back and the robe completely came off and piled up in the floor.

\---

Kai woke up with a jolt. He was groggy and unsure of where he was for a moment. But once he remembered last night he relaxed and came to his senses. His eyes closed as his hands rubbed the sleep out of them while his legs stretched out. Suddenly there was a dip in the bed and hands were on his bare chest. Kai jumped once again, much to Taemin’s amusement as he chuckled. “Morning~” the other man purred.  
“What time is it…?”  
“Hmm… Nine thirty?”

Kai let out a soft groan in acknowledgement. He wasn’t working today. He’d already be late if he was. So, he closed his eyes again and blindly reached out for Taemin pulling him close to him as he turned on his side. Clearly he didn’t want to be awake right now. “What do you want to do for breakfast?” Taemin asked with amusement in his voice. Kai only groaned in response. Too tired to think.  
“Is my car okay outside…?” Kai mumbled as he continued to pull Taemin close to him.  
“That’s what you’re worried about?”  
“Mhm. People don’t like me…”  
“Don’t like the authorities you mean?”  
“Same thing…”  
“I’m sure it’s fine.”  
“Move in with me.”  
“What?”

Taemin pulled away from the sleepy man. “Move in with me,” Kai repeated his statement, not bothering to open his eyes. He couldn’t see the complete shock on Taemin’s face.  
“Are you even thinking properly? You’re not even really awake.”  
“Mhm. This neighborhood isn’t safe. And I like being around you.”

In the grand scheme of things, the two have been together several months now. Their relationship has been moving quickly. So, in Kai’s mind… Why not?

Finally, Kai opened his eyes to look at Taemin. He seemed unsure, but he pursed his lips when Kai didn’t seem to falter. “Please?”  
“Let me think on it… Alright?”  
“Okay.“

\------

A week passed.

Yixing declared a mistrial during their next court session. When the defendant went to leave the court room he gave Kai the smuggest smirk.

Problem was. Now the mystery gang felt untouchable.

Another high pitch whistle dropping to a lower pitch was heard in a bank.

Demands for everyone to get on the ground came next.

More money was taken, another life was lost due to a bystander deciding to get brave.

Kai has never been this stressed, but there was one thing going for him.

Taemin was moving in with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be real with y'all. This entire short lil chapter was just an excuse to write some "low-key" steam while my brain tries to figure out how to connect two plot points later on. K thanks! =]


	5. Author's notes

Unfortunately I’m going to have to indefinitely put this fic on hold. The long and short of it is is simply that there have been a few changes in my life and this fic is emotionally tied to one of those changes, which could lead to problems down the road with myself if I’m not careful. Sorry it’s a vague statement, but hey. It’s personal stuff.

Anywho, that does not mean I’m going to stop writing. Far from that. I already have other stuff in the works and I’m posting a one-shot today. So if you enjoy my work then hey I’ll still be around. But if you only wanted this specific work from me, well. Prepare to be disappointed and I’m sorry to be _that_ person. But hey, mental health and stuff comes first.

I do hope that you’ll continue to support me in my other work. And hey, ya never know. I may come back to this. Who knows. But until then, it’s on to the next one!


End file.
